cduluk

hey thanks for the kind words- i called the shop again today, apparently its not done yet... maybe tomorrow? ugh...

I'd trust a dyno plots, not your butt dyno. :P His Camry could have carbon buildup inside the engine causing higher compression in one or more of the cylinders, and therefore the higher octane fuel is really what his car needs to avoid engine knock and run correctly under those conditions. could be- the thing was never really taken care of. It really was night and day between the 87 and 93.

not as bad as this one lol... When the 07 ES pics came out we were disgusted by the interior- and it don't look any better now 2 years later.

I agree that the new style is a step back- at least compared to the 04-09's... I haven't driven in the 010 Rx, but i've sat in them and played with the electronics. I wasn't very impressed, and i found the placement and style of the controls quite displeasing. And to top it off, the 06-08 400h's are faster than the 010 450h's- while only losing 2 mpg's compared to the 450h.

Those after-market headlights aren't the best quality... When did you get them? Was there any warranty? If the ccfl is dead, it's dead. There's nothing you can do to fix it. They're like miniature florescent light bulbs.

Oh trust me, i won't accept it if i'm not perfectly satisfied. The first time i had them do work, i made them spend a few more hours with it wet sanding and polishing a few dust particels they missed. The fact that they've had it for one month, it'd better be perfect.

If they knew the vehicle had that damage, they never would have purchased it from auction. It is possible they discovered it only after they bought it, and still decided to put it on the lot- but somehow i don't believe that either...

Ugh me too, they've certainly had it long enough. They told me it would be done Monday or Tuesday of this week, so that means today? Given my experience with them, they're pretty bad on deadlines. Ordinarily i would freak, but i know when i'm building/working on something, whenever i'm nagged i rush and the work comes out crappy. So i'd rather let them take their time...

My guess is that the dealer didn't know the damage was that severe. Dealers get some of the cars directly off leases, but most come from auctions- where who knows what has happened to it. Granted they should have inspected it better, they probably just assumed it was ok with such little mileage. If they knew the real damage, they would have never certified it. They would have nothing to gain certifying a car with such major damage. Also, i believe to be certified it can have no more than 3 body panels with paint work, the bumpers not included. They check every 1/4 panel, hood and door for paint work (with with one of those depth testers). If your car only had the front bumper worked on (which doesn't apply), the hood and both front 1/4 panels, it still qualifies for a cpo. It's up to the dealer to check below for frame work, which they missed for some reason.

I spent an entire day taking the Rx400h from 0-60, and i couldn't get a better time of 7.2s (that using my pro laser II to test). I also can't get the battery to get to a full charge. I've been driving the thing for about a month, and i haven't seen a full battery. I recently saw one of the commercials for the new Ford Fusion Hybrid. From the commercial they made it seem really nice and high quality. But they also make the new lincoln (?) look nice on the commercials- then you get in one, press on the dash and hear all these squeaks etc. The interior quality cannot compete with Toyota, i don't care what anyone else says. I'm just not a believer that a Ford will outlast any Toyota out there.

Would you buy it new or used? I guess it depends on what qualities you're looking for. I've driven in a friend's mom's prius a few times. The only thing i remember not liking was the lack of power. If i was ever in a situation where i needed to get out of the way or merge or pass someone, it wouldn't let you. The toyota camry hybrid has a 0-60 time of 7.7sec (only a little more than the rx400h time of 7.2). The pruis has a 0-60 time of 10.5sex Yes the mileage is better in the prius, but it sacrifices power and looks. The prius was designed with one thing in mind- gas mileage. Appearance came after. The camry was designed with both in mind.

Pretty sure the 450h's haven't been in the showroom TO test drive. Most first 450h buyers have already payed months ago, no?

Trust me, the difference is VERY clear on the camry.

i guess, the shop will work their magic! :)

I do see a night and day difference between running a full tank of 87 vs a full tank of 91/93. I've noticed this in my 03 rx300, in the rx400h and am currently noticing it in my cousin's 00 toyota camry 4cyl. I've had my cousin's 2000 toyota camry 4cyl for the past couple of weeks. She gave it to me with 87 (she uses the cheap stuff) and i noticed it seemed to struggle when you hit the accelerator, and it seemed to take FOREVER to redline; didn't feel right. When the tank ran out, i filled it with either 91 or 93 from shell or Sonoco. Since then, i've notice a HUGE increase in performance. I swear, if the accelerator is hit the right way, the camry seems to have almost as much power as the Rx300 did (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point). With the better fuel, the camry seems to shift more regularly and have smoother transitions. Maybe i feel so much of a difference because it's a 4cyl toyota, but still, it's a BIG difference. I don't think using 91/93 in a camry can hurt, but i like the difference and the car seems to react better as well.

I usually clean the winter set before putting them away in one corner of our garage for the summer. They stay clean and the temp and humidity is avg. During the winter, i clean the chrome set and leave them in the same place in the garage. The garage doesn't get too-too cold and the air is always dry, the best condition for the chrome... I figure i avg 15k miles a year, so the tires should last me about 3 years each...

They're not painting the roof, but they are clearing/ painting the 3" or so section of metal that starts at the windshield that merges into the rear 1/4. This is what they told me they were doing: But when clearing the top section, they'd need to mask off the door jams, which would leave a mask line that would be visible along the rim when the doors wher open. The line would look like this: So what they're going to to is to try to 'mist' along the rim, wetsand and polish it so you won't be able to see the "line" between the door jams and where was clearcoat, sort of like a blend.

I can only go by my experience using it in the Rx300...

Only to avoid the mask line around the edge of the doors (on the body). I went to the shop today to drop off the wheels i want them to put on, and i saw the progress. They have the hood removed (being sanded down) and have the FL fender sanded down to metal along with both side doors and part of the LR 1/4 panel. They told me they're going to try to 'mist' the edges and wetsand and polish to avoid having to paint the door jams or have a sharp mask line... I don't know, they know what they're doing i guess. Should be done next monday or tuesday...

I used the magic eraser on the Rx300 dash several times with no adverse effects. It is an abrasive, but the Rx300 dash can take it. It's a solid material, so it's not like you can sand your way through to.... underneath. You only need to use it once and the surface will become very dull and should be fine until something else is applied. There aren't many chemicals i would trust to use on the Rx300 dash that would remove the shiny armorall. The armorall is designed to resist chemicals. I would definitely use the eraser. I do however not suggest using the eraser on the Rx330/350/400h dash because it's covered in a layer of thin dyed vinyl, i learned this the hard way. I wouldn't use it on leather either. It does however work GREAT on the center console radio face (the black with all the buttons) as it removes any friction shine and makes the plastic look that flat black again. The radio bezel is black plastic, so again there's no limit of how many times you can use it. However if you have nav, the buttons are painted black and the eraser will take it off, but the standard buttons are black plastic not painted, so there's no limit.

Interesting thoughts! According to tirerack, the dunlop's have pretty bad tire wear, 4.9 / 10 according to people who surveyed. But i'll only be using them from May-Oct (switching back to the silver wheel/Michelin set in winter), so theoretically the dunlop's should last me double as long since they'll only be on the road half a year. So if they'd normally last me 30k miles and 2 years, they should last me 4 years- theoretically... My next tires will definitely be something better though. I had the Dueler Alenza's on the Rx300 and loved them. But since the tires on the chrome set will only be used in the summer, i'd want something that's better in dry and wet traction vs snow. There's one more tire on tirerack that beats the alenza in these two categories (starts with a Y i think?). But for sure, the alenza's are the best for all three, dry, wet and snow.

For the Rx300's dash, you can use a mr clean magic eraser with a little water. Just make circular paths and it will make the dash look new again. The eraser will NOT cause damage on the rx300's dash.

Just pop out the surround dash piece around the keyring (only held on with clips) and you will be able to gain access to the bulb that lights up the clear ring.

Well two out of the four wheels arrived today. The tires look pretty good! I found this pdf of the "Dunlop Original Equipment Guide - April 2008" and these tires are indeed OE for the Rx400h in other countries. http://www.gdmarketingservice.co.uk/downlo...t/Dunlop-OE.pdf If you go down to Lexus you'll see: Lexus RX400: 558435 225/60R17 SP SPORT 270 RHD 99V TL 1 SP Sport 270 So these tires must be OK since Lexus opted to put them on their cars. Must be for overseas Rx's because here in the US they usually come stock with oodyear or Michelins. And these tires in the 17" size are $257 USD EACH, yes EACH. I can only imagine what the price is on these 18's...

Well, it's been three weeks and my car is still not done at the autobody shop from being keyed. Two out of the four chrome wheels/rims came today (the other two were shipped a day later) and they're sitting in my garage... The rims/wheels look AWESOME! They're a little dirty but no staining to the chrome face. There are a few tiny-tiny blisters in the chrome on the back of the rims, on the round piece (with the 5 holes) that fits against the rotors or whatever you call them. I guess they didn't prep this surface very well before chroming? But the faces themselves are spotless and the finish is awesome. GRRR i want my car back so i can get these installed!!! Do you think it would be ok if i brought the wheels to the autobody shop and asked if they could put them on? I'd assume autobody shops deal with broken tires etc and would have the machines to install and align a front end, no? I mean, if they have my car, they'd may as well...